Today started off chilly and damp, but by the afternoon, things were quite pleasant out there. A good day to work outside.
Not a good day to get to the dump. It opens in the morning on Tuesdays, and we didn’t make it. It opens in the evening on Thursdays, so we’ll do our dump run, then.
My priority for the day was to get the cat shelters set up for the winter. Since the isolation shelter was going to go under the kitchen window, the first thing that needed to be done was to move the catio out of that spot.
The problem is, now that the roof is on, the overhang makes it difficult to grab the sides to move it, without face planting into the edge of the roof.
The solution: make handles for it, using paracord.
The first image in the slideshow above shows how I was able to get the paracord around the corner frame pieces. The end was threaded through the mesh on one side, into the loop of a garden twist tie, until it could be pulled through to the other side.
In the next image, you can see how the rope was tied to itself first, then the knot moved inside the catio before a another knot was made as close to the frame as I could, on the outside.
I admit, part of the reason I chose an overhand knot with some excess cord and put it on the inside, is because it’s right above the platforms. I expect the cats will play with the ends.
The next image shows how long of a loop was left for the handle. There is one of these on each corner.
This worked out quite well and allowed me to drag it easily across the yard. In retrospect, I should have put them lower down. Due to my own height, I can use them to drag across the yard, but I can’t lift it off the ground. If I had a second person using the other two handles, we could carry the catio that way, but my daughters aren’t any taller than I am, so it’ll still be mostly dragged on the ground. If it really is an issue, I can just undo the knots and lower the handles by a few inches.
In the next image, the catio is set up where I decided it will be for the winter. I wanted to make sure it was where it needed to be, because once it was wrapped in plastic for the winter, the handles would be covered and it would be more difficult to move again.
The roll of plastic I used is one of the sheets that was wrapped around the hot pepper and eggplant bed. It’s two vinyl table protectors from the dollar store, taped end to end.
I started at the door, making sure that it could still be latched and opened and closed without interference, then kept going. The vinyl is slightly wider than the height of the catio, but the excess can be tucked under the bottom.
It wasn’t long enough, though. I do have another roll, but it’s the same length, and I don’t want to double up so much. I do have one more table protector from the dollar store in the house, though, so I’ll use that.
Tomorrow.
The next thing to do was move the cat isolation shelter to a more open space.
Which is when I discovered a bit of a problem.
The whole thing is so heavy, and the ground is so soft right now, after all that rain, the wheels kept sinking into the soil! I had to wrestle with it, pausing to lift wheels out of the soil every now and then, to get it over the sidewalk, where I could work on it.
Where it had been sitting was not level, so the sloped roof ended up level. That meant rain didn’t drain off very well. I left the roof open and cleaned the seam out as best I could. I have an adhesive sealant to use on the seam later on, but the seam will need more cleaning, and be completely dry, because it can be used.
I then went digging through the scrap lumber my brother gave me to see if there was something I could use to put across the middle, to attach the clamp lamp to.
I found the perfect piece.
It was just long enough to fit across the top, lengthwise.
I could see it had been cut from a larger piece, but that’s just fine. I needed something narrow for the clamp lamp.
While getting ready to attach it to the underside of the frame, Stinky came to help. 😄
So did my daughter. She held it in place for me while I drilled pilot holes to screw it in place.
I am so glad I was able to make those sliding doors! It would have been much more difficult to access the underside of the frame to attach this. Even so, my daughter ended up taking over and finished the last two screws for me.
The cross piece was installed slightly towards the front, over the cat hammock. The clamp was also mounted sideways, with the lamp angled down, making it even closer to the front, and higher up than if it were just hanging straight now. I did not want to take any chance that a cat might burn themselves on it.
Once the lamp was in place, it was time to wrap the bottom of the shelter in plastic. I had a sheet of dollar store dining table protector, cut it in half, lengthwise. It took both halves to wrap all the way around, with maybe a foot and a half of excess that got folded under.
For both the catio and the isolation shelter, the vinyl was tacked in place with push pins. I decided on push pins because they can be removed easily. I want to use the vinyl again in the garden next year, so I wanted to avoid making larger holes. Pin pricks along the edges should be fine.
After the bottom was wrapped up, I set up a heated water bowl on one side of the upper level, and a food bowl on the other. A litter box, with litter in it this time, was put back into the bottom level.
Once that was done, I finished clearing the patio blocks under the kitchen window and set up the insulation we put over the basement walls and windows for the winter. In the past, we used an old bench and a bin against the insulation to hold it in place. This winter, the isolation shelter will serve that purpose for most of it.
Once the insulation was in, the shelter had to be wrestled over to the patio blocks. It didn’t have for to go, but there was always at least one wheel that would end up sunk into the ground!
The patio blocks are not at all level, either, with some of them heaved out of place by the roots of the elm tree in front of the kitchen window. That, at least, was easier to maneuver around, once all the wheels were on the blocks.
The next while was spent working out the safest way to set up the extension cord to power the heated water bowl and heater. The new cross piece came in quite handy, to wrap excess cord around.
In the last image of the slideshow, you can see the final result. It was getting pretty dark by then, so I did the evening feeding. Before I left, I could see some kittens checking out the bottom of the shelter, where there used to be a food bowl. It shouldn’t take long for them to figure out where it is now – and discover that there is heat up there!
My only concern is if the racoons discover it. We haven’t been seeing them as much, lately, as the temperatures drop. The sun room, at least, has the critter cam, and we can check it every now and then. We have no such option now. Even if we look out the kitchen window, it’s hard to see things directly below.
In time, we will get a smoke detector to put in there, like we have in the cat house. I’d like to put a thermometer in there, too, though one that’s mounted directly to the frame. The one we set up on a holder inside the cat house kept getting pulled down as the cats would play with it!
Right now, there are only two things left that need to be done. One is to get a carabiner for the latch; I think I have one available, but I’m not sure where it is right now. The other is to get some colour matched paint for the exposed wood. With the bottom wrapped in plastic for the winter, though, that will wait until spring!
I’m quite happy with how this has turned out. The Cat Lady has contacted the vet clinic about getting spays done and should hear back soon. Once she has it confirmed, she’ll let me know the date – and for how many! The isolation shelter is now ready for them to be in for their two week recovery period. Since we will likely be doing mostly, if not all, kittens, it could easily shelter three or four at once. With adult cats, I wouldn’t want to have more than two in there at once.
There is the insulated box nest in there right now, plus the hammock, but we will add more cat blankets or beds as well, once we know how many will be in there.
Next, we need to open up the cat house, clean it out and get it plugged in and ready for the winter. That will be a two person, job, as the roof is quite heavy, and the wood is starting to crack. It has to be opened very carefully, so it doesn’t twist.
I haven’t been seeing the cats use lately. The insides of the windows are so dirty, I can’t see inside very well. I’m a bit afraid of what we’ll find in there, after having to bury so many kittens this year. It could simply be because the sun room is warm, and the cat house isn’t, but they seemed to stop using it before things started getting chilly.
Well, we’ll find what we find. Hopefully, just a lot of cat poop or something benign like that! 😄😄
The Re-Farmer
The Re-Farmer 